My name is Michelle Greenleigh Lincoln. I’m a sixty-eight-year-old retired English teacher. I spent most of my adult life in a small town in the mountains of western Maine, but after my husband died, staying on in the house we shared for all of those years was just too painful. I was trying to decide what to do next when I received an invitation to my fiftieth high school reunion. I was of two minds about attending. I hadn’t been back to my old home town since I graduated. Naturally, I did what anyone would—I went online to see what the place looked like these days. I was some startled, as they say in Maine, to discover that the house I’d grown up in was on the market.
I’m still not sure what came over me, but the next thing I knew, I’d bought my childhood home, packed up everything I owned, including the cat, and moved back to Lenape Hollow, New York. I know. I know. Everyone says you shouldn’t make big life changes right after the loss of a loved one. That’s good advice, but it’s hard to follow. In most respects, I’m glad I yielded to the impulse.
There have been a few problems, of course. The first one came when I realized my retirement income wasn’t going to stretch far enough to cover necessary repairs on the house. That’s when I had the brilliant idea to set up shop as a freelance editor to earn the extra income I needed to fix the roof over my head. Since The Grammar Guru was already taken, I named myself The Write Right Wright and set up a business website. Most people prefer to call me a book doctor. Whatever the name, it’s my idea of an ideal job. I make my own hours and most of my clients come to me over the Internet, so I don’t have to deal with them face-to-face. It’s not that I don’t like people, but if one of them doesn’t take kindly to my editorial suggestions, I’d just as soon not be cussed out in person.
So, there I was, starting a new business, renewing old friendships with high school pals who still live in the area, getting to know my neighbors, and along came Tiffany Scott. She seemed like a nice young woman, and she’d written a novel she wanted me to edit. We talked, she gave me a deposit and the manuscript . . . and a few days later she was dead under very peculiar circumstances. Murdered? The police aren’t saying, but I know what I think.
I swear I never intended to follow in the footsteps of Miss Marple, but somehow one thing has led to another. You see, Tiffany left a clue behind, one I’m uniquely qualified to interpret. So, with the help of my old friend Darlene, and the moral support of Calpurnia, my cat, I’ve been putting together the pieces of a rather intricate puzzle, hoping to identify the person who took Tiffany’s life before the killer guesses how close I am to figuring out who dunnit.
Giveaway: Tell us, have you moved back home from a long stay away? Leave a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of Crime & Punctuation. U.S. entries only, please. The giveaway ends June 1, 2018. Good luck everyone!
You can read more about Mikki in Crime & Punctuation, the first book in the NEW “Deadly Edits” mystery series.
After splurging to buy her childhood home in the Catskills, recently widowed Mikki Lincoln emerges from retirement as a freelance editor. With her ability to spot details that others fail to see, it’s not long before Mikki earns clients—and realizes that the village of Lenape Hollow isn’t the thriving tourist destination it was decades ago. Not with a murderer on the loose . . .
When perky novice writer Tiffany Scott knocks at her door holding a towering manuscript, Mikki expects another debut novel plagued by typos and sloppy prose. Instead, she finds a murder mystery ripped from the headlines of Lenape Hollow’s not-too-distant past. The opening scene is a graphic page-turner, but it sends a real chill down Mikki’s spine after the young author turns up dead just like the victim in her story . . .
Mikki refuses to believe that Tiffany’s death was accidental, and suspicions of foul play solidify as she uncovers a strange inconsistency in the manuscript and a possible motive in the notes. Then there’s Tiffany’s grandmother and husband, who aren’t exactly on friendly terms over the local area’s planned rejuvenation efforts . . .
Unable to convince police that they are focused on the wrong suspect, Mikki must rely on her keen eyes to catch the truth hidden in Lenape Hollow. As she gets closer to cracking the case, only one person takes Mikki’s investigation seriously—the cunning killer who will do anything to make this chapter of her life come to a very abrupt ending . . .
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About the author
Kathy Lynn Emerson/Kaitlyn Dunnett is the author of more than fifty-five traditionally published books written under several names. She won the Agatha Award and was an Anthony and Macavity finalist for best mystery nonfiction of 2008 for How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries and was an Agatha Award finalist in 2015 in the best mystery short story category. She was the Malice Domestic Guest of Honor in 2014. Currently she writes the contemporary Liss MacCrimmon Mysteries and the “Deadly Edits” series (Crime & Punctuation—2018) as Kaitlyn and the historical Mistress Jaffrey Mysteries (Murder in a Cornish Alehouse) as Kathy. The latter series is a spin-off from her earlier “Face Down” mysteries and is set in Elizabethan England. Her most recent collection of short stories is Different Times, Different Crimes. Her websites are KaitlynDunnett.com and KathyLynnEmerson.com and she maintains a website about women who lived in England between 1485 and 1603 at A Who’s Who of Tudor Women.
All comments are welcomed.
I had considered moving to my hometown of where I attended high school but ended up buying a home not far from my previous home.
I lived in another state for 13 years until I moved back to be near family. I’ve learned more by being back near family, oddly enough.
Thank you for the opportunity to win a copy of this book. I am interested in reading it.
Aloha-Although I have not yet moved back home, back East to the Mainland as we say here in Hawaii, I have been homesick for seven years, yearning for good ol’ Eastern Shore of Maryland seafood, local small town charm and hydrangeas, geraniums and sunflowers only Maryland can grow. You haven’t lived until you have eaten Maryland sweet corn, local tomatoes and strawberries. So this may not count as an entry but if dreams do, then this is as good as any winner can be. I am working on my plans for return this year. Wish me luck and to land in just the right space. Mahalo.
I haven’t been tempted to move back to my childhood home.
I still live in the city where I grew up.
I was away from my hometown for four years attending school as an adult, but when I returned I found it very different.
I had no desire to return to my home area. No one remains and I never cared for it.
I had left my little home town to go to college and never came back. Thirty nine years later an old neighbor told me our childhood home was on the market. Out of curiosity, I went to see it. Sadly, the neighborhood was run down, even though the house itself was still wonderful. The realtor (an old friend) started sending me nearby listings. Long story short, we ended up retiring, selling our “forever” home and moving back a few miles from where I grew up. My bff from back then did the same thing and we now live a block apart. We love it! Who says you can’t go home again?
I have not returned to my home town, but as a mystery-loving, retired English teacher who has done editing, I have a very particular interest in this book!
Yes, I have returned home to the Midwest twice after living on both the West & East Coast. Thanks for the review & giveaway.
I’d like to begin my comment with the fact that I am delighted with a series with a sleuth near to my age and highlighting editing.
I don’t believe I have read any writings by Kathy/Kaitlyn but I surely plan on changing that with this series.
My husband and I met while still in highschool in our small town in New England and although we moved out of state when we were married, we have never longed to return permanently. But for me, going back to our town to see family and old friends brings back fond memories and nostalgia but never the urge to return. As it turned out though, we retired in a state adjoining our birth state and live only 25 miles or so away from our hometown.
Thank you for the opportunity to win this book; I would be honored to win, read and review it. Thank you. Cynthia
As much as I loved my childhood home, I wouldn’t want to live there. I believe it is haunted.
Until I got married 33 years ago, I lived in the same city I was born in. Since my marriage we have lived in the same city we located to after our marriage. Although I would love to move closer to my husband’s job, finances have kept us where we are.
I’ve moved away from my home town area. My husband retired and it was always our dream to move to Florida, so here we are.
I moved away from home to go to college. I was away for five years and then moved back. I’ve never really regretted coming back. Thanks for the chance to win!
I lived away from my home town for several years and moved back. I now live in my family home where lots of love and memories are. My parents passed away and I was blessed to get their home. I’m so very thankful.
I did move home, before college, after I’d been traveling on my own for a couple of years. It worked out pretty well for everyone because my parents had just bought a small farm and I was able to help my Dad cut lumber for a new barn and lay the foundation as well as some other day to day chores until my brothers were old enough to pitch in.
I grew up in Michigan and moved to Chicago after I got married. I’m planning to move back to Michigan in the next couple of years, but not to my hometown. My Sister lives in a small town on Lake Michigan and I really like the small town feeling.
We moved away from our hometown to experience Colorado, which we love. We have been here five years, but a move back may be in our future, as both of our families are back home. Crime and Punctuation sounds like a great read. Thanks for being on Dru Ann’s “A day in the life.”
I moved away once for 2 years, otherwise still live where i was born and raised
This sounds delightful! I look forward to reading it.
I was born and raised and went to college in Northern CA!
I never moved back to my home town, mainly because I got married in college and we stayed in that town for the next 48 years. Now we want to move closer to our children, and nobody wants to live in the Chicago area where I grew up!
The book sounds great! Can’t wait to read it!!
No, I believe you can’t go home again – especially when the family is gone. Looking forward to this book.
I moved out when I was 18 and ended up moving to IN from my hometown in TN. I lived up there for close to 10 years. Due to health issues (mine and my parents) I moved back home. I now live in the home I grew up in. Along with me and my dog, there is also my parents and my older brother, his wife and their dogs. I love being home. And although I know the saying is you cannot really go home again, I believe you can. Home is in you not a place and my childhood home, family and pup are truly HOME for me.
I went away to college for 4 years but other then that I am still living in the city I grew up in. This book sounds great! Thanks for the chance to win.
I love anything written by Kaitlyn Dunnett. I look forward to reading this new series.
**** WINNER ****
Crime & Punctuation is Cynthia Blain
Congratulations!